NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - For patients with several
blockages in their coronary arteries, mortality rates are lower
when they undergo bypass grafting rather than having the new
generation of drug-eluting stents inserted, a study shows.

The results are published in this week's New England
Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Edward L. Hannan, at the State University of New York,
Rensselaer, and colleagues compared outcomes of nearly 10,000
patients with multiple coronary lesions who were treated with
drug-eluting stents and almost 7500 similar patients who
underwent coronary artery bypass grafting.

After making adjustments for the presence of other
illnesses, the chances of dying within 18 months were
approximately 25 percent lower with the coronary bypass
operation than with insertion of drug-eluting stents. Estimated
rates of heart attacks and the need for another procedure also
favored bypass grafting rather than stenting.

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The results "affirm that coronary artery bypass grafting
remains the standard of care" for patients who require
clearance of multiple coronary blockages, writes Dr. Joseph P.
Carrozza, Jr., from Harvard Medical School, in an editorial.
"However, stents may be an alternative for patients at high
risk for surgical complications or when an informed patient
chooses a less invasive option."